Casey`s Death Will Leave Void In Panels` Findings

August 10, 1987|United Press International

WASHINGTON -- Congressional Iran-Contra investigators always assumed that William Casey`s death would leave some gaps in their knowledge, but they did not expect the CIA director would take to his grave the scandal`s biggest secrets.

The congressional hearings, which ended last week, went a long way toward digging up details of the affair. But conflicting testimony about Casey raised monumental questions about his involvement in the scandal and left most panel members conceding they would never know the full truth.

Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine, who developed a reputation as one of the most insightful members of the select committees, last week listed Casey`s death as the primary reason the panels would never know the full story.

``He was obviously a central figure in these events and the absence of his direct testimony will leave some gaps that will never be filled,`` said Mitchell after hearing three days of private testimony from CIA officials.

``Let`s face it,`` added one committee staff member. ``Unless we could call him (Casey) as a witness, his role will always remain a mystery.``

Casey died May 6 after a 4 1/2-month battle with brain cancer, but his presence was felt through much of the hearings as lawmakers probed virtually every aspect of the arms sales to Iran, the private network that supplied the Nicaraguan Contra rebels when U.S. aid was banned and the diversion of sales profits from the arms sales to the Contras.

The problem now facing committee members as they begin a monthlong summer recess is how to resolve the mystery of Casey`s role.